Hollywood writers face uncertainty on return

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood writers finally returned
to work on Wednesday with a brighter future in new media but
facing uncertainty about whether their 14-week strike will cost
them lucrative TV work.

The Writers Guild of America hailed its new contract with
major studios as a deal that secured writers a stake in the
evolving market for movies and TV shows on the Web.

But the promise of those revenues may not offset the $3
billion lost to the local economy or changes to the way
Hollywood runs its TV pilot season, long a lucrative source of
income for writers.

"I think it's a good deal, not a great deal. It gets the
writers a beachhead on the Internet, which was critically
needed, but in the short term there were definitely losses,"
said Jonathan Handel, lawyer with the Los Angeles-based Troy
Gould firm and a former WGA counsel.

Some 10,500 WGA members went on strike against major film
and TV studios in November in a dispute centering largely on
fees they wanted when their work was distributed on the
Internet. But the walkout could dramatically change the way the
TV industry works.

Media giants News Corp and Walt Disney Co have already said
they would scale back TV pilots due to the strike, while Jeff
Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, the media wing of
General Electric Co, said he wanted to largely exit the
business of developing pilots.

TV networks use pilot episodes to decide whether to
schedule a series, but the industry has long lamented the
process as too expensive and said pilots often led nowhere.

"There are going to be fewer development deals, fewer
pilots made and that is money (for writers) that won't come
back," Handel said.
Continued...